Well this stinks! Ever felt that way before? Ever said that out load before or even thought it under your breath with only yourself and God as the audience? Yup; me too. We’ve all been there. The truth is that life does stink at times and those who appear to constantly live above the fray and claim no pain are probably not dealing with reality and know a Christianity other than what I know. When I read the Bible I don’t see perfection, at least not on this side of eternity. No, I don’t see “health and wealth and lack of problems.” I see . . . stink. I see real life in the Bible and the kind of life that we experience here in the 21st century. While the Bible was inspired by God, it was written through human agents who breathed the same air and problems we face today. They were human and at times their lives stunk as well. Elijah felt suicidal. David wept bitterly. Paul spoke of anxiety regarding a dear friend near death. Even Jesus, God in flesh, spoke of the problems of his age and ours and the fact that just like they hated him, they would hate his followers as well. Yes, I see loads of stink in life and in the Bible, but I also see hope.
This past Sunday we kicked off a series of studies at The Crossings entitled “In Search of Joy” from the book of Philippians. In the text, the apostle Paul wrote to some of the first Christians in the ancient city of Philippi and called them to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say again: Rejoice!” Maybe you read that and think he’s either got to be kidding or has stepped out of reality. Maybe he wrote that while kicking back on a Caribbean cruise or while relaxing at a mountain retreat at Lake Tahoe. I mean anyone can rejoice when the world is going your way. But what we find in the historical context is that Paul was actually in jail for Christ when he wrote those words around 61 AD. In addition, Paul was living with people who were using his imprisonment as an opportunity to advance their own cause while all the time cloaking their real motives in the guise of evangelistic opportunities. Yes, unholy church politics even existed in the first century just like today.
Somehow though, despite all the problems in Paul’s life at that time of which he could have focused on, he was able to look above the stink and see the bigger picture and truly rejoice. It’s interesting to note that in the little four chapter book of Philippians the word “rejoice” or some form of the word appears almost 20 times. You get the picture that maybe Paul knew something we don’t in the Western Church today. Throughout the text Paul hinged everything around Christ again and again. Because of Paul’s focus on Christ he was able to see the bigger picture, secure contentment in the present, and look forward to eternity to come. Because of Paul’s focus on Christ, he was able to rejoice in a way that the world around us simply cannot comprehend.
We live in a world that is consumed with self-absorption but devoid of true joy. It was into this kind of world that Paul wrote the book of Philippians which shined like stars in a dark night of the first century. Because those words of Paul were also inspired by God, they can likewise shine in the darkness of your world today. We’ll be unpacking this more fully at The Crossings in the weeks to come, but here are a few pointers to begin with. What else would you add?
-Deliberately choose to make Christ the central love of your life. Philip. 1:21, 3:7-9.
-Turn off political talk radio for at least one week. Philip. 4:8.
-Make a “Thankful List” and focus on the positive. Philip. 1:3, 4:8.
-Send a “Thank You” note to someone.
-Think of others first and purposefully imitate Christ’s example. Philip. 2:1-8, 2:20-21.
-Look at the bigger picture. Philip. 1:6, 18; 3:20.
-Look to Christ for your strength. Philip. 4:13, 4:19.
-Remember that “This World” is not our ultimate home. Philip. 3:20, John 14:1-3, Revelation 21:1-4.
Hey Grant, thanks for stopping by the neighborhood. Always enjoy the conversation whether here or FB. You are correct that the Biblical authors were not perfect and the life described was not perfect as in some kind of Greek mythology or something. That is actually an evidence (though not a huge one) for the veracity of the Bible. It’s not just a story book.
But yet, what we are looking at in the Biblical text is not only historical (note the archeological and textual findings) but also inspired by God. Paul Spoke of the text as being “God breathed” and Jesus spoke of the OT events such as Noah and the flood as being historically accurate.
Though you are not actually asking a question in your response, there is a question posed. How do we know the Bible is the authentic Word of God opposed to the Book of Mormon or Quran or other? The Bible makes claim to divine authorship. So a logical question is whether that statement is accurate or not. That is a good and valid question and I’ve actually written about that here on Kingdomology before. Note the link below.
The book of Mormon claims divine inspiration, but there is absolutely zero historical or archeological evidence of the ancient civilizations that Joseph Smith wrote of outside his own testimony and no one saw the gold plates he claimed to have received from an angel but him alone. That one is easy to deal with.
The Quran has little more testimony for its validity outside the sole word of Mohammad. The Bible on the other hand is replete with evidence which most people just don’t want to look at for fear of having to make a decision. An easy place to start is the link below. “Evidence that Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell has stood as a pillar study on this subject for some 30 to 40 years. Though a bit dry at times, its logical progression is solid. A foundational proof would be the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He prophesized it all. The eye witness accounts of such went to violent deaths for their testimony. If the apostles stole the body of Christ as some critics claim, then they would have gone to a horrific death by persecution for something they knew was not true. Many, many more. Good question Grant. Thanks.
https://kingdomology.org/just-life/reading-the-reliable/
Not a bad thought. Your point begins to address many concerns I have for the Bible, the Quran and any other spiritual book. It doesn’t change the history, but it does address that the authors had their share of garbage in their lives. It is also clear that many times, that garbage filtered into the writing they scribed. It doesn’t change my mind, but I do appreciate the reminder that the Bible was not written by God or Jesus, but by humans that had their own pile of garbage to deal with.